Thursday, Nov 8, 2007
The 18-month-long reconstruction of a mile-and-a-half of the Generals Highway in Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks is nearing completion. This ends the sixth phase in a multi-phased project to rebuild the historic road from the entrance of Sequoia National Park to the entrance of Kings Canyon National Park at Highway 180.
Agee Construction Corporation of Clovis, California, was awarded the $11.5-million contract for this phase, which began in June 13, 2006. The project improved the roadway between Big Fern Spring, 9.2 miles from the Ash Mountain Entrance Station on Highway 198, and Amphitheater Point, which is 5.3 miles below the Giant Forest Museum in Sequoia National Park. It is expected to be completed on schedule and within budget.
One of the narrowest and steepest sections of the road, it also had some of the worst damage, making it one of the most difficult stretches to reconstruct. Park rangers and local communities helped visitors plan to minimize wait times at the construction zone.
“The efforts of local businesses and chambers of commerce working with park staff kept visitors informed, and few if any complaints came to my office,” said superintendent Craig C. Axtell. “Everyone's patience and assistance was greatly appreciated.”
Even with traffic delays, visitation to the parks was up this summer. Preliminary reports show an increase of approximately 3% over last year.
Reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Generals Highway began in 1993 just below the Sequoia Park entrance at Ash Mountain. In order to prevent closing the road for a long time in order to rebuild it, reconstruction is being phased to take place approximately every other year or so. The project is expected to extend over decades, but wait times will be minimized to the extent possible. The project is administered by Federal Highways Administration, and Scott Wolfert was their project engineer for the past 18 months.
“Scott Wolfert and Lynn Allred, Agee’s superintendent, were excellent to work with during this project,” said Jerry Torres, the parks’ liaison for this project. “They did everything possible to work with the National Park Service to minimize the impact of this major construction project on the visitors and local communities. We appreciate all of their effort.”
The 46-mile-long Generals Highway is the primary visitor artery through Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks. The first sixteen miles of the Generals Highway, linking a foothills wagon road to the Giant Forest, opened in 1926. It saw its first pavement in 1929. The thirty miles from Giant Forest to Grant Grove opened in 1935, while the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) of Great Depression days built rock guard walls, drains, and watering stations along the earlier stretch.
The start date of the next phase depends on several factors, including the availability of funding. Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks look forward to working with local communities and businesses again at that time.
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